Odisha Assembly adjourned till 3 pm over irregular TAC meeting

Bhubaneswar: The State Legislative Assembly was adjourned today following uproar created by the Opposition Congress members over the issue of irregular meeting of the Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC).

As soon as the question hour of the House began, the Congress members drew the attention of the Speaker stating that though the state government, which has constituted the Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC) for the welfare of the tribal community in the state, has not taken specific measures by conducting the TAC meeting which should sit twice a year.

Unsatisfied with the reply of the Tribal Welfare minister Ramesh Majhi, leader of the Opposition Narasingh Mishra said though the chief minister is the chairperson of the TAC, he has not shown any interest in convening the TAC meeting which has not been held since last five years. “This shows the concern of the state government towards the welfare of the tribals,” he pointed out.

Following Mishra’s statement in the assembly, Congress MLAs led by the Opposition chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati rushed to the well of the house and started shouting anti-government slogans. They also urged Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat to issue a directive to the chief minister to give a clarification on this issue.

But as the Speaker ignored their demand and asked to continue the question hour session, the irate Congress legislators protested with loud voice disrupting the House proceedings.

Unable to run the House, the Speaker adjourned the House till 11.30 am.

The issue again cropped up during zero hour at 11.30 am when the BJP members, supporting the demands of the Congress members demanded a clarification from the chief minister about irregular TAC meeting.

But as the Speaker did not give his ruling to their demand, members of both the Opposition parties rushed to the well of the House and gave anti-government slogans.